The Doctor and the Dustwalker
by cheri1
Summary: Donna POV. Spoilers for Partners in Crime. Donna's thoughts about her home life and finding the Doctor again.


A/N: Partners in Crime was incredible! I loved it, and I love Donna now! Rose is still my favorite, but Donna's now a very close second. I was inspired by her home life since I also have fallen on hard times in the past and was forced to live with my mother for awhile. So, I decided to do a little POV fic for this episode. I look forward to the rest of season four and seeing her character evolve in addition to seeing more of Rose!

I can't believe it.

I finally found him after all this time.

And even better, he wants me to travel with him!

I was such a fool the first time. I was so blind, I couldn't see what was staring me right in the face. All I could see was this skinny Martian boy with his stupid blue box that was bigger on the inside than the outside. At the time, I was more concerned about getting back to Lance than I was traveling through time and space with him. Oh sure, he was a nice guy, for the most part. But, he was an alien. A scary alien. When I saw what he did to that Racnoss creature and her children, it terrified me beyond belief, and I began to wonder if I went with him, would that be just the beginning of a whole bunch of frightening things?

So, when he offered to take me with him, I opted out, deciding to err on the side of caution. Besides, I had more important things to do, I told myself. I was gonna take off, get out of England, and walk in the dust of planet Earth.

Problem is, it's kinda hard to walk in the dust when you have nothing but bleedin' dust in your pocket.

Therefore, I was forced to move back home with mum after only a couple of weeks of trying to scarper out of the country. I had to live by her rules, do things her way, and listen to her natter on day and night about why I didn't have a job. Here I was, a grown woman forced to live like a kid again. I hated it with a passion. I had no freedom of any kind. I couldn't just take off and go somewhere because I had to clear it with her in advance. I couldn't talk back to her and tell her where to go if I didn't agree with the way she ran things because it was her house and her word was law and I was to be grateful since she took me in out of the kindness of her heart. I practically had to get on my knees and beg for money. First, before I got some, I had to listen to another lecture about why I didn't have a job and how I needed to get out there and look instead of wasting my time sitting around the house drinking tea and dreaming. Then, and only then, would she allow me a bit of money to get by. Secretly, I think she liked me living with her. She liked telling me what to do every minute and reveled in lecturing me on how I should live my life.

Little by little, day after day, my spirits began to sink lower and lower, and I found myself longing for the Doctor more and more. I would lay there in bed at night staring up at the ceiling asking God to bring him back to me, so I could escape the hell I was in. Every day that I spent with her, I focused more and more on finding him as fast as possible until it became an obsession, which in turn made my mum even more angry and made her yell at me even more.

Granddad was my only source of joy. Unlike mum, he did believe in me and didn't think I was a complete failure. He saw my living with my mum as a bump in the road, not a big gaping hole I would never climb out of. Of course, mum disapproved of him, which made me love him all the more. He sat there night after night on the hill looking at the stars and planets through a telescope and marveling at their beauty. Mind you, I wasn't much for stargazing before I came to live with mum, but after enduring her day after day, being with him was a way to let off steam and relax and just have a bit of fun. My granddad never judged me, never told me to get a job, never told me I was a loser and that's why I loved him so much. I finally did tell him about the Doctor and instead of telling me I was a daft little dreamer, he became so excited that I had found a man, asking me about him and telling me that I needed to go find him and keep up the search no matter what. My granddad believed in a better life for me. Believed that I was capable of great things and that I had a great future ahead. It was his enthusiasm and encouragement that kept me going and that's a big reason why I didn't stop searching for the Doctor.

So, I listened to the news, the radio, and watched the internet for any sign of trouble. Something that the Doctor might be involved in. Then, without telling mum, I would go and investigate it myself in the hopes of running into him. the whole idea was completely bonkers, and I knew I was risking my life, but that's how badly I wanted to see him again. How badly I wanted to escape my dead end life and go travel with him.

And, that's what brought me to Adipose Industries where I finally found the Doctor. And right after I found him, what do you know, we're running for our lives. But, as we're fighting to escape Miss Foster and the Adipose, which I have to admit were kinda cute, I realized then just how alive I felt. Despite the danger, I couldn't have been more happier to be with him, risking my life. And that's when I realized that perhaps this was God's way of telling me that this was the life I was destined to have.

Then I saw the TARDIS sitting near my car, which just confirmed it in my head that this is what I'm supposed to do.

The Doctor was hesitant at first. I don't know this Martha, and I don't know what happened, but it sounded messy from what he told me. Then, I nearly flipped out when I misunderstood his wanting a mate. I was so relieved when he meant he wanted a friend. A friend I can be, but I'm not about to bed a….um, Gallifrey…an…ite…however, you say it. I'm not interested in being anything other than a traveling companion and friend and by the looks of it, the man could really use a friend, especially after this Martha leaving…and Rose…God, I hope he finds her someday. Perhaps, we'll find her during our travels. I hope so. I would love to meet the woman who seems to have such a hold on this remarkable man's hearts.

And so, I wave goodbye to my beloved Granddad, who believed in me, and the ho-hum, humdrum, dead-end life, that mum believed I should have, to go off into time and space with a half-crazed alien and walk in the dust of other planets. As we head off to our first destination, ancient Rome, I shiver in anticipation. I hold no illusions that being with the Doctor will be a walk in the park. I've already seen how dangerous and deadly it can be to be around him, but as I stand by his side in the console room and watch the…um…thing-a-ma-bob go up and down, I can't imagine a more perfect life to have.

THE END


End file.
